South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, driven by a decline in big tech companies, as investors wait to hear what US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will say about monetary policy at a forum this week.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.59 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,572.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investors have remained cautious after Powell said last week that US interest rates will need to be raised once or twice more this year, dampening hopes for the beginning of interest rate cuts.

Eyes are on what Powell will say about the Fed's hawkish monetary tightening and the economy feared to go into recession as he is due to appear at a forum in Portugal on Wednesday.

Kospi's tech heavyweights echoed the losses of their US peers on Wall Street on Monday, with Samsung Electronics slipping 0.4 percent and top battery maker LG Energy Solution falling 1.4 percent.

Battery components maker Posco Future M dipped nearly 3 percent.

Auto stocks gained. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.8 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia rose 0.4 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,307.20 won against the US dollar at around 9:15 a.m., down 0.9 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap)